Sri Lakshmana Swamy
Q: You recommend concentration on the name and form of an enlightened one. Can one concentrate on one of the gods, such as Rama and Krishna, instead?
LS: If you concentrate on the name and form of a god, the Self may take the form of that God and appear before you. These gods are not apart from the Self, and if you concentrate on them, the grace of the Self will start to flow.
Q: So a physical Guru is not absolutely necessary?
LS: You may make good progress by concentrating on a god, but in the final stages of sadhana a human Guru is essential. Just before Sarada realized the Self her I-thought tried to escape by breaking her skull. If I had not been present the experience would have killed her. The I-thought would have broken her skull and escaped to the higher regions where it would have been reborn again.
So a human Guru is essential. In my own case I was able to obtain a brief experience of the Self by my own effort, but I was unable to make it permanent. I knew I needed a Guru. I came to Ramana Maharshi and by his grace I realized the Self.
Q: But Ramana Maharshi had no Guru.
LS: In very rare cases the Self within acts as the Guru, but in all other cases a Guru is essential.
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